Ever since EA revealed that it was dropping the FIFA license, rumors have abounded that arch-rival 2K Sports is planning to pick up the mantle and make its own soccer sim. But in today's earnings call, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said that any potential competitor to EA Sports FC would face numerous complications.
"I would just note with regards to the FIFA license, it does not bring along with it rights; it doesn’t come along with players, teams, or leagues," Zelnick said. "So it’s not as simple, for example, as negotiating with the NFL, or the NBA, or MLB, where at most you have to negotiate with a league and a player’s association. So anyone who would want to compete in the straight ahead sim environment for soccer… you wouldn’t just have to address one particular brand license, there’s a whole lot more than that."
Unlike American leagues like the NFL, international soccer consists of a complex web of teams, leagues, tournaments, and players, many of whom must be negotiated with individually. EA has largely cornered the market in that regard, locking up the rights to the Premier League, La Liga, and other popular groups with EA Sports FC. Konami spent years trying to chip away at EA's dominance with Pro Evolution Soccer before finally pivoting to the free-to-play eFootball, leaving EA largely uncontested in the soccer market.
EA dropped the FIFA license in 2022 amid reports that the organization, which serves as the governing body for the various national associations around the world, was asking for more than $1 billion per four-year World Cup cycle. EA rebranded the series as EA Sports FC in 2023 with relatively few changes. Since then there has been speculation that Take-Two might take on the FIFA license, but there remain numerous questions about how it would approach the licensing for various teams and leagues.
The benefits to making an EA Sports FC competitor
Zelnick did point out that there are great potential rewards for developing a successful sim. "We’re very mindful that it’s incredibly difficult to build a great sim experience for console, it takes a long time, and if you do it right your users are very loyal and very embedded."
College Football 25, which finally released to big player counts last month, spent close to four years in development as EA painstakingly negotiated with schools and players. Take-Two would face a similar challenge with a potential FIFA game, but without the added benefit of an established technological baseline unless its heavily repurposed tech from NBA 2K. Asked what its success might mean for Take-Two, Zelnick said that the company had taken notice of the revival's success but that it had nothing to announce regarding a potential return to college basketball, whether in NBA 2K or elsewhere.
In the meantime, Zelnick was quick to remind listeners that Take-Two is already in the soccer business thanks to Top Eleven, which he called the "number one mobile soccer manager title." He also shouted out NBA 2K, WWE 2K, and the rest of the publisher's sports games, calling the various leagues "great partners."
"From our point of view, we have a great sports portfolio… I’m sure we will make more announcements in due course," Zelnick said.
He also commented on the Borderlands movie's terrible reviews in comments exclusive to IGN, asking fans to "give it a chance," and talked about the potential impact of the video game voice actor strike. For more, check out all the rest of the biggest games releasing in 2024.
Kat Bailey is IGN's News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
